IBM continues to provide digital innovations as part of its brand sponsorship with The Masters tournament, powering the annual golf event with a robust app that broadcasts footage from the annual golf event in ultra HD, 4K resolution, along with providing a virtual reality experience for Android users.
The app, downloadable on both iOS and Android, allows golf fans to follow along with all the action by way of an up-to-date leaderboard and news coming out of the event, videos, detailed player stats, tee times, hole overviews and meticulous tracking of each shot played during the tournament.
IBM has proven to be a hugely successful sponsor of the golf tournament over the years, not only providing it with extra financial funding to officially represent the Augusta National Golf Club event, but also providing digital innovations that routinely make it a fundamental part of the event’s success. This year is no different, with the company providing a number of key new features including enhanced live streaming options and the welcome inclusion of 4K for TVs that support the resolution, and special virtual reality playback for holes 6 and 16.
With its The Master app, IBM successfully ensures that even for those watching from home who will be forced to miss out on pivotal moments during the course of the tournament, they’ll be able to remain informed via their smartphone/tablet, along with being afforded the opportunity to watch what they’ve missed whenever they want.
Speaking to Fortune, IBM’s VP of global sponsorships and client programs Noah Syken explained: “Over the past couple of years The Masters started to focus more on data around the course and (the enhancements) are about the experience we want to create. It’s about putting an experience in a users hands that they will find some value in, that will draw them into the tournament.” With the company having been very successful in continuing to broaden the digital options for this event, they are now looking to mimic the options afforded to users of its app with more events that it sponsors, including potential new features for its apps as part of its sponsorship of the four tennis grand slams.
With that being said, The Masters looks to be just the start of a year in which the company will provide interesting opportunities for mobile and tablet users to engage with the biggest events, with the company continuing to be a purveyor in delivering unique digital experiences for the sports fan.
